Thursday, June 30, 2011

All eyes will be on the Scarlet Witch as this miniseries concludes, but hopefully a little time will be spent detailing how Hawkeye wound up having sex with a Doom-Bot. Keep reading at Broken Frontier!

Hope and the girls go out for a day of shopping and I find myself oddly intrigued. For being a character so crucial to the future of mutantkind and a centerpiece to many X-stories, her personality has proved to be lacking. If you posed ten “What would you do if…” questions about Wolverine or Emma Frost, I feel as though I could answer each one accurately, but with Hope it’s hard to pinpoint what her individual quirks are. Read the rest at Broken Frontier!

For a series supposedly focused on the femme fatales of Gotham City, The Joker and Batman wind up stealing the spotlight. Catwoman plays a subservient role to Batman as he works out a way to save the day, while The Joker provides the best moment of the issue: he asks a victim to solve a riddle to save his life before delivering a laugh-out-loud punch line and stabbing him in the forehead with a knife, which is precisely what I wanted to do to myself after reading this issue. Read the rest at IGN!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Within 22 pages, Tobin manages to deliver an enticing beginning, a cleverly plotted middle, and a funny ending for an entertaining clash between two Marvel mainstays. One would be hard-pressed to find a better comic where silly jokes run rampant, well-paced action enthralls, and Dr. Doom gets thwarted by a Chihuahua. Check out the rest on IGN!

Dark Horse Presents continues its revival in print with another 80 pages of short comics from various popular and new artists and writers. A total of ten different stories appear in this anthology; some are better than others, but a more focused, high-quality effort to bring readers an anthology of diverse titles cannot be found anywhere else in print today.Check out the rest at Broken Frontier!

Battling against the mysterious, disgusting General and a corrupt police force in 1932, the Operative, the Reverant, and a woman with a jetpack begrudgingly join forces for another round of pulp-inspired action.Keep reading at Broken Frontier!

Is it a spoiler to say that Spider-Man actually dies in a story titled "Death of Spider-Man"? If it is, then consider the ending to this story spoiled. After 160 issues, Bendis brings his career-making arc for Peter Parker to a close. Even though he will continue to write Ultimate Spider-Man featuring a new web-slinger in black and red duds, this issue marks the end of Peter’s story that has made for one of the best ongoing titles of the last decade. With such great stories that have built up to this moment, this particular issue encounters a few problems that stop it from being a truly iconic finish. Keep reading at Broken Frontier!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The issue has enough characters and action that it is set to burst, but that doesn’t stop it from forming a cohesive story that proves to be the best Fear Itself tie-in so far. Keep reading at Broken Frontier!

Supergirl goes undercover Never Been Kissed-style in order to help Lois Lane discover why several intelligent teenagers have disappeared. While the supporting characters shine with interesting personalities, the titular heroine’s behavior feels inconsistent. Keep reading at Broken Frontier!

Waid brings this story to an end in a way that echoes the (initial) death of Sherlock Holmes, but it plays out differently since Archer has something Holmes did not: the beautiful, tough, and fiercely intelligent Emma Bishop. The mystery usually makes for the core of a detective story, but the true heart of this one has proven to be the unique – and often humorous – relationship between Archer and Bishop, although theirs is not a love story by any stretch. Bishop is the best written comic character in recent memory, and Archer is lucky to have her at his side. Check out the rest at IGN.com!

Jill Pantozzi has written a truly heartfelt article about her response to Oracle getting out of her wheelchair to become Batgirl once more.

While her reaction is genuine and I would encourage everyone to read the article for the arguments it brings up, I want to point out that no details have been released about whether Barbara Gordon will still be in a wheelchair or not once the DC September Re-Launch hits. There's a possibility she could still be disabled and find an advanced Batgirl suit that puts her on her feet much like the new revamped Venom series by Rick Remender. Or Jill's fears could be realized and they completely erase her history back to where she never got shot by the Joker. Only time will tell, but this is still worth a read:

Who’s your symbol for strength in the DC universe? I’m sure a lot of you are thinking Superman or Batman right now. They’ve certainly got the physical strength and fortitude to make them the perfect candidates. While Batman is my all-time favorite character in comics, he’s not the first person I look to when I need to be reminded to keep fighting in this world. For that I look to Oracle. Read the rest at Newsarama.com!

Deadpool wants to die and he’s sought out the Hulk to help him out. After dropping several nuclear warheads on him last issue, he now wrangles with the Hulk in a fast-paced brawl full of fun only the Merc with a Mouth can deliver. Check out the rest at IGN!

No, this comic doesn’t have Ben Stiller’s Mr. Furious getting angry and Janeane Garofalo’s The Bowler defeating baddies with a bowling ball encasing her father’s skull. What this comic does have is a pulp story about a handful of heroes set in the Marvel Universe during the 1930s. And it’s good. Check out the rest on Broken Frontier!

With the bulk of popular comics being stories about costumed heroes punching each other, it’s nice to have a well-written story about a silly cowboy and his trusty bear named Sterling. "Reed Gunther and the Steak Snacking Snake" lives up to its name and tells a story filled with laughs and western flair.Keep reading at Broken Frontier!

Eric Shanower has been slowly building a fire of tension underneath this whimsical adventure by placing his charming cast of characters into increasingly dire circumstances. The story got this far by odd turns of fate and magical rules that did not even try to grasp at logic, but now all of those elements begin to boil as Billina the chicken attempts to solve the Gnome King’s puzzle and save her friends and the royal family. Read the rest on Broken Frontier!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Advertised as the culmination of Mignola and Fegredo’s work since 2007’s Darkness Calls, The Fury wastes no time delivering on all of the setup built in previous stories, sometimes even referencing events that took place in the first Hellboy story, Seed of Destruction. For longtime Hellboy fans, this action-packed, plot-heavy issue delivers. Read the rest at Broken Frontier!

In the wake of Hyperion attacking the United States and killing the President, Doctor Spectrum, a.k.a. Captain Joe Ledger, now resides as the world’s greatest protector. Check it out at Broken Frontier!